Why Brexit would be good for local government
Author: Ben Ramanauskas |
In a series of blogs in which we consider the compatibility of localism with support for the EU, Ben Ramanauskas, a Research Fellow at Localis, makes the case below that Brexit would benefit local government. You can read the opposing argument for voting remain by Localis’ Dominic Leigh here.
Those who believe that the United Kingdom should remain in the European Union often argue that local areas within the UK will suffer economically in the event of Brexit. However, it will be argued in this post that, far from being worse off financial, the economies of local areas will benefit if the UK leaves the EU.
The Remain argument starts from the fact that the UK is set to receive £8billion to spend on local projects in the period 2014-20. Therefore, they argue, if Britain leaves the EU this money could be lost and their economies suffer as a result.
However, although it is true that the EU has provided local authorities with some funding in the past, this has often been in an ineffective and inefficient way. The Local Government Association itself has argued that previous EU funding programmes have been too fragmented, too centrally driven, and unnecessarily challenging to access. Given such problems, it is surely the case that funds for local governments should be managed, commissioned, and delivered on a local level and not by the bureaucratic and inefficient EU.
But more than that, local communities would I believe be in a better position financially in the event of Brexit. Firstly, although the UK does receive some funding from the EU, it gets far less back than it puts in. So when Britain leaves, we will in fact have more money available to give to local authorities to enable them to improve local infrastructure and so enhance their economies.
Furthermore, a liberated UK would be able to pursue free trade agreements with other nations. Free trade has produced prosperity on a massive scale that is unprecedented and unmatched in human history. If Britain leaves the EU, it will give local businesses access to potentially billions of extra consumers, in some of the fastest growing economies on the planet. The economies of local communities will therefore benefit as a result.
It is therefore clear that far from damaging the economies of local communities, Brexit will actually benefit the economies of local communities. In the event of Brexit, local economies will flourish and thrive.